Chapter 282 Your Highness and Achu have such a great understanding.

Before Chief Minister Feng could figure out what was going on, Pei Yuan gave an order.

"Guards, seize the Feng family father and son, and carry all their belongings into the palace."

Chief Minister Feng was deathly pale and collapsed to the ground.

Feng Wenhan had just run into the courtyard when he was pinned down by the Flying Eagle Guards who were standing guard outside.

Before he even had a chance to speak, a tattered rag was stuffed into his mouth.

I don't know where they found it, but the stench on it made Feng Wenhan's eyes roll back and he almost fainted.

Li Chengxuan put his hands on his hips and laughed heartily.

This is a rag that he specially soaked in the urine of his big yellow dog.

They deserved to frame Ah Chu!

Li Chengxuan was laughing for a moment when he looked up and saw Pei Yuan walking out of the house in a bright red flying fish robe.

Two Flying Eagle Guards escorted the dejected Chief Minister Feng behind him.

The smile on his face froze instantly.

"Sixth Prince, you...weren't you imprisoned by His Majesty's decree? How come you're here?"

Pei Yuan glanced at him sideways, then swept his gaze over the guards behind him who were holding the memorial tablet, and asked a question instead of answering.

"And why are you here?"

Li Chengxuan was as docile as a rabbit in front of him, and whispered:

"It was Achu who sent a message to me through Eunuch Jinbao, saying that the treasure must be hidden underground in the Feng family's house, and that I should find a way to create mystery and arouse the suspicion of Chief Minister Feng."

Ah Chu told me to go to the Ministry of Works to retrieve the Feng family's construction drawings from the past ten years. He said that if the Feng family wanted to build a secret room underground, they would have to dig a hole in the ground to conceal the traces.

After checking, I found that the Feng family has only had their ancestral hall and the main courtyard where Chief Minister Feng lived disturbed in recent years.

Brother Luo and I divided the work. I took the memorial tablets of my grandfather, father, and uncles and elders and wandered around, while Brother Luo led his men in to sneak in and set fire to the ancestral hall and the main courtyard.

"Since Prime Minister Feng is worried about the treasure, he will naturally go inside to check, and we can follow him and catch him red-handed."

At this point, Li Chengxuan suddenly realized something was wrong.

"Hey, why hasn't Brother Luo arrived yet? Could it be that he was discovered by the Feng family's guards after setting the fire?"

Before he could finish speaking, Luo Heng rushed in with his men, looking hurried.

Li Chengxuan hurriedly went to greet him, exclaiming, "Brother Luo, you're finally here! Are you alright?"

Luo Heng shook his head, and when he saw Pei Yuan, his pupils instantly contracted.

"Sixth Prince? What are you doing here?"

Pei Yuan strode over, his expression cold and aloof.

"I ordered the Flying Eagle Guards to set the fire, and they were the ones who first stormed into the Feng family's main courtyard."

"If I hadn't been here today, how successful do you think your plan would have been, Manager Luo?"

Luo Heng's expression changed slightly.

Li Chengxuan stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

"Brother, you didn't start the fire at the ancestral hall? You...you didn't just bring people into the Feng family, did you?"

Luo Heng's expression was rather unpleasant.

He had indeed just brought people into the Feng family.

He hesitated before setting off.

He knew that following Shen Chu's plan, they could definitely find the treasure and clear Shen Chu's name.

But this also means that we must work together to clear the Sixth Prince's name.

He had painstakingly set up a scheme, and then lured Pei Yuan into it, thinking that he could ruin Pei Yuan's reputation and even have him executed by the emperor.

Now he has to break the trap he himself set.

He was unwilling to accept it.

After hesitating for a long time, he finally left home.

In the end, he couldn't bring himself to harm Shen Chu, but this hesitation allowed Pei Yuan to take the lead.

Unable to explain these matters, Luo Heng could only vaguely reply, "Some things were delayed."

Li Chengxuan frowned. "What could be more important than saving A-Chu?"

Luo Heng pursed his lips and remained silent.

Pei Yuan's lips curled into a sneer.

"Fortunately, A-Chu's life is not in your hands. Manager Luo, when it comes to matters of life and death, if you can't do it, don't easily promise others."

Luo Heng's expression changed drastically.

"Your Highness seized the initiative this time. If you were imprisoned in the palace by His Majesty right now, what could you do for A-Chu?"

Pei Yuan said with a hint of scorn, "Even if I am imprisoned, I will find a way to protect A-Chu before I am imprisoned."

"You!" Luo Heng was angered. "Your Highness is so arrogant, aren't you afraid that one day you'll be proven wrong?"

"Being able to analyze the situation in a timely manner and adapt accordingly is confidence; blindly agreeing without understanding the situation is arrogance."

Luo Heng's face turned bluish-purple.

"Well said." Li Chengxuan couldn't help but applaud.

Luo Heng's face darkened, and he grabbed his arm, gritting his teeth.

"Li Chengxuan, whose side are you on?"

“It’s from my Chu’s side.”

Luo Heng...

Although Li Chengxuan wanted to speak up for Luo Heng, it was a fact that Luo Heng was late, and what the Sixth Prince said earlier made a lot of sense.

He had just felt that the Sixth Prince was radiating an aura of confidence.

Li Chengxuan temporarily forgot his fear and asked Pei Yuan curiously:

"Your Highness, how did you know about A-Chu's plan and arrange for people to set fire to the courtyard and break in beforehand?"

Pei Yuan dusted off his bright red flying fish robe and chuckled.

“What Achu thought of, I also thought of.”

Li Chengxuan couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

"My goodness, Your Highness and Ah Chu are so in sync."

A smile, like spring water, suddenly appeared in Pei Yuan's eyes.

He raised his hand and patted Li Chengxuan on the shoulder.

"You're quite good, kid. Come with me to the palace to see the Emperor in a bit!"

Having said that, he walked away with his hands behind his back.

Li Chengxuan stared blankly at his back, then jumped up and grabbed Luo Heng's shoulder, shaking him violently.

"Big brother, did you hear that? The Sixth Prince praised me! My God, that's the Sixth Prince I fear the most!"

He even invited me to accompany him to the palace to meet the emperor.

Luo Heng concealed the coldness in his eyes, his smile somewhat stiff.

------

Inside Longquan Palace, the atmosphere was so cold and chilling that it made you want to shiver.

Pei Yuan closed the booklet and placed it in front of Emperor Longqing.

"A total of sixty chests of silver, totaling 600,000 taels, and twenty chests of gold, equivalent to 400,000 taels of silver, were found in the Feng family's secret chamber."

Twenty-two boxes of jewelry, along with paintings, calligraphy, and ornaments from the previous dynasty, and most importantly, this blueprint.

Pei Yuan pointed to the two blueprints at the top.

That's a detailed map showing the locations of the two gold mines.

A gold mine!

The Longqing Emperor's eyes blazed with fury.

The mere thought that so many treasures were in the hands of the Feng family while he remained completely unaware of them filled him with a burning rage, making him want to kill the Feng family father and son on the spot.

Emperor Longqing was still furious and kicked Chief Minister Feng hard in the chest.

"You bastards, over a million taels of silver! And that doesn't even include what you've spent over the past ten years, plus two gold mines!"

Since I ascended the throne, the national treasury has never been full, and various prefectures and counties have frequently suffered from disasters that require funds from the national treasury.

I was so worried that my hair was turning white, but I never expected that you would embezzle so much gold and silver!

"A wolf's ambition! A wolf's ambition indeed!"

Emperor Longqing kicked Chief Minister Feng more than a dozen times before stopping and ordered:

"Go, have Gao Jie immediately lead the Imperial Guards to raid the Feng family's residence. Then summon He Zhengxiang to me and have him thoroughly investigate the Feng family father and son, uncovering all the despicable things they have done over the years."

I will expose their evil deeds to the world, so that everyone in the world will condemn them.

The two, including the chief minister, were dragged out like dead dogs.

Pei Yuan stepped forward. "Father, now that the treasure has been found, shouldn't we release Shen Chu from the death row?"

The Longqing Emperor frowned.